Dining Banquettes & Kitchen Breakfast Nooks

I’ll be honest, if I don’t get seated in a comfy booth when visiting a restaurant, it puts a bad taste in my mouth for the whole meal–no matter what’s on the menu–so the idea of having my very own banquette seating right here in my own home makes me absurdly giddy.

Via 29 Rue House

Dining room décor is often predictable when it boils down to layout, but banquette diners put a whole new slant on things, as well as providing a more flexible solution when it comes to squeezing in ‘just one more’ at the dinner table. Ordinarily, having a dining table shoved off to one side or crammed into a corner to gain floor space for practical living can be disappointing, but with this solution the close proximity of the wall serves stylish purpose in housing a wonderfully snug, fitted banquette.

A built-in bench could even provide an extra space saving storage solution in its base, ideal to stow away bulky table cloths and seasonal items that would usually clutter up your kitchen cabinets or dining room sideboards; you could even use the cavernous cubby for all of those bulky kids toys you’re tired of tripping over, or rainy day board games and craft supplies that are used right there at the dining table.

Via Decor Pad

Even if you’ve already completed your dining area or kitchen diner décor, you can still achieve this alternative look by swapping out a couple of dining chairs for an upholstered bench in a complimentary, or contrasting, fabric to your existing dining furniture; if your chairs have plain seat pads, consider a striped or strikingly patterned dining banquette to mix things up a bit.

Via Beautiful Habitat

Alternatively, pick out one colour from patterned chairs, and use the shade in creating a plain button back affair–you could even try adding a tall back board, or throw in a shaped silhouette, for a grand statement of opulence. (I’m planning on a similar high backed upholstered display for my future reading nook!)

Kitchen banquettes can conjure a whole new dimension within your cooking zone, by presenting the possibility of a breakfast nook in dining space you didn’t know you had. A kitchen nook may also prove useful when it comes to feeding little meal-time-meanderers, as children can’t wander off before dinner is over when parents and older siblings are seated on each side of the dining bench, and meal-time-monkeys can’t swing in a kitchen booth as they do on chair legs, which could save a few bumps and bruises!